1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and, more specifically, to a display device that simplifies the repair or the replacement of individual components of the main printed circuit board.
2. Background Art
A display device is generally constructed using a stand, a front housing, and a rear housing. The housings contain a cathode ray tube (CRT) and a printed circuit board (PCB). The increasing performance demands for display devices, resulting from widespread use of multi-media applications, has led to the development of various techniques to increase the overall quality of display devices. One method of enhancing monitor performance has been to supplement the main printed circuit board with additional side mounted printed circuit boards. This has resulted in display devices becoming bulkier and heavier while the internal components of the display devices have become even more intricate. Research targeted at improving the assembly and design of monitors is shown, by way of example, in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,640 to Latasiewicz entitled Display Mounting Assembly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,274 to Mac Donald entitled Readout and Circuit Board with Test Access, U.S. Pat. No. 5, 122,928 to Lo entitled Monitor Housing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,545 to Wang entitled Monitor Shell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,629, to Korinsky entitled Electronics Chassis and Method of Manufacture Therefor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,974 to Ohkoshi entitled Display Tube Assembly and Mounting Process Thereof and U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,240 to Rodeffer entitled Self-Locking Housing Including Tabs that Bear Against the Sides of the Printed Circuit Board.
I have observed that the trend of increasing the size of display devices while using the intricate components necessary to increase performance has increased the difficulty of making repairs. The increasing difficulty is largely due to the increasing effort and care necessary to disassemble a monitor. This is especially true when the main printed circuit board must be tested or repaired. The main printed circuit board is typically located in the bottommost interior portion of the display device. Thus, to access the main PCB, one has to remove the rear housing, the side-mounted PCB assemblies, and the shields or guards that are also built into some display devices, and the multi-bracketed frame or stand assembly must be disassembled prior to removing the main PCB. Only after removing the main PCB can the board be turned over and the bottom soldered to repair and replace individual circuit components. I expect that a display device that simplified access to the main PCB would reduce the time necessary to make repairs, lower the cost of repairs, and increase the market competitiveness of the display devices.